This hostage situation had a happy ending

Not all hostage situations end tragically or drag on for months taking on epic proportions.

Last Sunday night in Sta. Cruz, Manila, police defused a potentially explosive situation in five minutes flat, arresting a hostage taker armed with a hand grenade.

Police said the hostage situation was triggered by a botched robbery in Plaza Lacson that ended on Florentino Torres street, in front of the Annan Lodge.

Initial investigation showed that at about 8:30 p.m., four rookie policemen detailed with the Blumentritt police station were on routine patrol at Plaza Lacson when they saw three men acting suspiciously near the Plaza Fair supermarket.

PO1s Samuel Mendoza, Emerson Riosa, Elvin Caramantion and John Labrador immediately approached suspect Nilo Tagle, 21, and his two unidentified companions who managed to slip away.

Tagle, a member of the Commando gang and a resident of C-136 Farola compound, Tondo, then suddenly boarded a passing jeepney to make his own getaway.

The rookies then gave chase.

Sensing that the policemen were on to him, Tagle got off the jeepney and grabbed passerby Nicanor Ilagan Jr. along Florentino Torres street. Armed with a hand grenade, Tagle threatened to kill Ilagan if the policemen came any closer.

The cops, and not some roving media correspondent, in turn negotiated with the suspect to give up peacefully and release his hostage. After five minutes of negotiations, Tagle surrendered and released his grip on Ilagan. Police then secured the unexploded hand grenade.

"The police outsmarted him by getting closer to him as they talked, until they cornered him," said Western Police District spokesman Senior Inspector Gerry Agunod.

The four responding policemen will be recommended for promotion for handling the situation well, Agunod said.